Circulation promotion device



July 15, 1941. J. spREA CIRCULATION PROMOTION DEVICE FiledAug. 5', 1959 INVENTOR Jhn G Re BY a ATTORNEYS WITNESSES Patented July 15, 1941 UNITED STAT E s :rA'rsN T or F! on Y 'CI-RC'ULATIGN rltoivro :rIoN ZDEV'ICE John G. Rea, Union City, N. J.

Application August 5, 1939, Serial No. 288,538

'3 Claims.

This invention relates'to circulation promotion devices, and more particularly to a device adapted to'act on the deep blood vessels to promote circulation in the humanv body. It acts as an auxiliaiy heart to aid the human heart in forcing blood through the body, and more particularly to the extremities of the body. Various devices have been constructed and used which act on the superficial blood vessels but, in order to secure and to properly promote circulation, it is necessary that the deep-seated vessels be reached, and this action is therefore one of the primary objects of the present invention. Other objects and purposes will appear as the description proceeds.

In the accompanying drawing- Fig. l is a perspective view of my device in place;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a plan view;

Fig. 4 is a detailed view of the valves in crosssection, taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a feeder plug, taken on the line 55 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a detailed view of a flap valve;

Fig. '7 is a cross-sectional view of a flap valve, taken on the line of Fig. 2;

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view, taken on the line 8--8 of Fig. 3.

My device l0 consists of a rigid casing carrying a pressure gage l2 and the necessary valves and plugs which will be discussed later, and a flexible boot I3. The boot i3 is preferably made of heavy rubber and converges from its center toward the two open ends l4 and i5. The casin H is supplied with a beaded edge or rim 20, and the boot I3 is folded over the edge of the head and tied or wired in place by the members 2| and then refolded back over the members 2|. The middle section of the boot normally and before the boot is associated with the casing II is of a greater diameter than the casing itself, but when connected with the casing the section 7:5 of the boot I3 is loose within the casing so as to provide an air chamber or compartment. The method of tying the boot l3 to the casing H, as shown in Fig. 8, insures an airtight connection.

Upon the casing H is a feeder plug 3!) to which a hose or tube 3| may be easily fastened. .The hose or tube 3| leads to a pump and suction machine which would be conventional in structure and is not shown here. The feeder plug is fastened to the casing H by any conventional means, such as the lock nut 32 and washers 33 which insure a tight connection. At the bottom of the feeder plug 30 are a. plurality of projections 34 which'are adapted to keepthe middle section of the boot'25 away from the opening 35 when a vacuumis used. A second feeder plug 36 is providedon the interior of the casing The secondplug'ismerely for the purpose of connecting the device H] to a correspondingdevice for use on another limb. The corresponding device would be very similar to the one shown except that the valves and gage would not be needed and the only outlet necessary would be one feed The middle section 25 of the boot I3 is pro.

vided with a flap valve 40 to allow air to escape from within the interior of the device outwardly but not to allow air to pass from within the easing through the member 25. The flap valve 40 may consist of a piece of rubber 4| vulcanized or otherwise fastened at its edges over an opening 42 in the middle section of the boot 25. There is a slit 43 in the member 4| and immediately adjacent this slit are two projections 44 and 45. These projections prevent the valve from being placed out of operation when suction or vacuum is applied to the machine because of the valve being pressed against the inside of the casing H, the projections acting to keep the slit 43 from being jammed against the wall.

On the casing II are two valves 58 and Bi]. The valve 60 is used to control pressure when air is pumped into the device, and the valve is used to control the suction when vacuum is applied to the device. The valve 50 is fastened to the casing II by any suitable means such as the lock nuts 5| and the washers or gaskets52. The valve 5!.) has a ball 53 which is seated against a cap 54. The cap 54 has external threads which engage the internal threads of the nipple 55. It will be seen that by screwing or unscrewing the cap 54, pressure within the casing may be varied. The valve is similar to the valve 50 with the exception that it is provided with an inner nipple 6| against which the ball 62 is seated. The lower end of the cap 63 is provided with slots 64 to allow the passage of air into the center channel 65. vBy screwing or unscrewing the cap 63 pressure against the ball 62 is varied and the pressure within the casing may be varied.

In operation the device I!) is placed upon the thigh 9 of the patient and a corresponding device upon the other leg. The two devices areconnected by means of a tube running from the feeder plug 36, and the pressure machine is attached to the feeder plug 30. The end members l4 and I5 tend to fit snugly about the thigh of the patient. Air is alternately pumped into and out of the casing through the feeder plug 30. As air is pumped in, the section 25 being larger than the casing closes about the leg of the patient and exerts pressure thereon. In this operation the flap valve 40 is closed. As the air is pumped out of the casing, the flap valve 40 is opened and any air between the leg and the member 25 can be drawn out. The two members l4 and I5 fitting snugly against the leg also act as flap valves in that, when air is pumped in, some air may be forced out past the members, but when vacuum is applied it tends to tighten their contact and prevent any loss of vacuum.

The gage l2 gives an accurate check on the amount of pressure or suction being applied. The amount of pressure or suction may be controlled by the manipulation of the valves 50 and 60. With the use of the same pump it is pos sible to exert considerable pressure when the air is pumped in and a slight suction when the air is pumped out, since by the manipulation of the valves 50 and 60 the amount of air passing through these valves at any time may be easily controlled.

I claim:

1. A circulation promotion device including a rigid casing, a flexible boot fastened intermediate its ends to said rigid casing, means for pumping air in and out of the compartment formed between said flexible boot and said rigid casing, and a flap valve to allow air to be pumped from the interior of the boot into the compartment formed between the boot and the casing but to prevent air from being pumped from the compartment into the interior of the boot.

2. In a device of the character described, a rigid casing, a flexible boot longer than said casing, said boot being of a greater diameter at its intermediate portion than at its ends and at said intermediate portion being loosely disposed Within said casing and being folded back up itself over the edge of said casing at each end thereof to form an airtight compartment between said boot and casing, and extending to form a flexible cuff.

3. A therapeutic apparatus including a rigid casing, a flexible casing extending within said rigid casing secured in air-tight relation to the opposite ends thereof to provide an air chamber and extending beyond said rigid casing at each end of said rigid casing, said flexible casing being at its center portion loose from said rigid casing and tapering toward its end portions.

JOHN G. REA. 

